Get Plugged in to Your Peers and Other Resources

Melissa Rancour

Many (many) years ago I took a job with a small nonprofit organization. When I started that job, I didn’t know anything about the Blackbaud software used by the organization (or much of anything about nonprofits). I only had a few hours to train with the person I was replacing, which wasn’t enough time to teach me much of anything. Yet the work had to get done. Everyone relied on me to get their information entered, retrieved, or removed from the databases I oversaw. I had to get up-to-speed—quickly.

 

 The Support team was a great resource, helping me with one-off tasks. But I wanted to learn beyond the reactionary tasks at hand. I wanted to take a proactive role. I wanted to understand the “why” behind each task and how a given task could impact other tasks. I wanted to connect the dots and see the big picture. I wanted to learn, but I had limited time and resources. I started reaching out to other nonprofits and searching the Blackbaud.com website for resources and information; but those many years ago, information and training wasn’t easy to locate or digest.  

 

Finding information and getting essential training is certainly much easier today. Especially if you participate in the Blackbaud Community. These web pages help you connect the dots by gathering information and experience from other nonprofit professionals who use Blackbaud products. Just browse our Community pages and you’ll find:

• Aha! moments from your peers
• Best practices standards
• Blogs
• How-to suggestions
• Success/failure stories
• Upcoming events information
• Additional resources

Not only is training much easier to find and digest than it used to be, at Blackbaud University you can learn in whatever format you prefer: take an instructor-led class virtually, watch an eLearning course, attend a regional event, or invite an educational consultant to your organization—it’s your choice.

 
Bonus: The entire Blackbaud University training catalog has been refreshed and provides topics ranging from Fundamentals (mechanics) to Best Practices (thought leadership). If you’ve been wondering what our training is like or what types of things are offered, check out a quick introductory video here.

 
Action item: Once you have a grasp of the full capabilities of your Blackbaud products—how to use those capabilities effectively and efficiently—you can show off your knowledge with Certification. If you know it, certify it!

                                                                               

Today, I’m a Blackbaud employee and have been for almost a dozen years. Each day, I get to work with thousands of nonprofits of every size. I get to help people connect with peers, learn the best way to use their Blackbaud software, and reach their missions. I’ll forever be grateful for those days at that nonprofit. The direction of my life was happily changed for the better. Now, I get to work with all of you, and that keeps me challenged, motivated, and rewarded.